Measuring polarization, inequality, welfare and poverty

This paper analyzes the relationship between polarization and inequality, welfare and poverty measures. First, the Wolfson polarization measure is generalized in terms of the between-groups and within-groups Gini components for income groups separated by any z income value. Second, it is shown that polarization is the difference between the welfare levels of rich and poor income groups when feelings of identification between individuals are based on their utility functions. Third, the proposed polarization measure is a function of the Sen poverty index, its extension due to Shorrocks (1995) and the normalized poverty deficit index when the z income value represents the poverty line. In addition, these results are linked to the Esteban and Ray (1994) and Esteban et al. (1999) polarization measures.